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Shirley Bassey Answers Twenty (Very Personal) Questions From Picture Show, Nov 1960

01. How and when did you start singing?

Shirley: As a kid of eight I sang at the neighbours' weddings. They used to give me a slice of cake or a threepenny bit as a reward. But I was so shy, I would insist on singing from under the table where no one could see me.

02. Do you feel sentimental about those days?

Shirley: I don't remember them clearly except for the odd fights at school. I used to fight a lot, but they never dared to tease me too far.

03. How did you earn your living before you became a professional singer?

Shirley: At 15, I went straight from school into an enamelware factory.

04. Have you ever had a singing lesson in your life?

Shirley: Never

05. Some people say you work your voice too hard. Do you agree?

Shirley: No I don't. I think how you drive yourself is something that only YOU can understand and control. When I've got a bad throat, people beg me to hold back. But I can't. I MUST GIVE ALL THE TIME!

06. Do you work under strong nervous strain?

Shirley: Frequently. Mostly on first nights. It's murder ! I ask myself why I'm in the business at all when I get so frightened. You're supposed to enjoy your work, but I can't enjoy mine when I've got a fit of nerves.

07. Are you naturally moody?

Shirley : Yes, I am. I want proof at every performance that people like me.

08. You sing passionate songs. Are you passionate at heart?

Shirley: Yes, I pick songs that suit the way I feel. When I sing As Long As He Needs Me, that's really how I like to feel about a man.

09. Do you fall in love easily?

Shirley: Very easily. Well, it's not love, it's infatuation. Falling in love is often an escape from living on your nerves.

10. If you love deeply, do you also hate deeply?

Shirley : I can explode in a terrible temper, but it dies quickly. I can't hate. I can't bear malice.

11. Which singers do you admire most?

Shirley: Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, and Sammy Davis Jnr. Judy Garland most of all. I think she's wonderful.

12. You have just been voted the best female singer in Britain. How do you rate in America?

Shirley: Frankly, hardly at all, although I was there four years ago. I didn't do television work then. It's such a vast country, you can't get anywhere without TV. That's why I've insisted on doing it this time.

13. If you make a hit, would you like to stay in America?

Shirley: I don't think so. The pace is too fast for me.

14. In Are you ready for marriage yet?

Shirley : Oh yes! (shyly). What I mean is I'd like to get married now. Whether I'm ready for it is something I can't answer.

15. Why would you like to get married now?

Shirley: Because I'm lonely in spite of success, and I'd like to share my success with someone.

16. Your life has made several dramatic headlines. Do you ever feel a femme fatale, a woman destined to be the pivot of emotions?

Shirley: Not in the slightest.

17. Where do you see your career ending?

Shirley: I don't know - except that I don't think I'd want it to continue too long after I marry. I'd hate to make a man feel that I was in the foreground, and he was in the background. I couldn't bear him to be known as Mr. Shirley Bassey.

18. What is the best advice you've been given?

Shirley: Someone once wrote it on the mirror in my dressing-room, and I left it there to read it every night: YOU ARE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR LAST PERFORMANCE.

19. Have you any strong feelings about religion or politics?

Shirley: No. Both are too frightening. I only feel safe in my own little world. Politics and religion I leave alone because they're way over my head.

20. You have matured enormously. Can you still see the frightened little girl from Cardiff in your sophisticated make-up?

Shirley: Believe me, she's always there. My fans recognise her. They tell me that, on stage, I look so sure of myself and so unapproachable, whereas, off-stage, I'm quite unsophisticated and easy to talk to. I must admit I'm still terrified of singing in public at a party. I was asked to sing the other day at Judy Garland's party. They had to twist both my arms to get a note out of me. Do you know, I nearly asked them - only I was too ashamed - to let me sing from under the table, just like I did when I was eight?

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